Hermit

This Blog is called Shark Fishing for a reason. The sharks referred to are human sharks. Treat me like a wounded animal, a beast that has been scarred by life and we'll get on but treat me the way I look, like a thug, then I know that you are a 'judge a book by it's cover' sort of bod. I'm short, squat and bald. I don't smile a lot. My neighbour said last week that he smiled at people. It disarms them. He is 'Hail fellow Well Met'.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_fellow_well_met It is an education to watch him in action. If I am with him, he engages people in conversation and I withdraw to a safe distance. He told me last week, that I shouldn't rely on him, that I should go and seek people out, look for other reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom. I told him that he has spoiled me for other people. I have been dwelling on my poor social skills and lack of interest in interacting with people. Prior to mental health diagnosis, I did work that involved lots of people but I created plenty of space and time within that for alone time. I don't know whether it has to do with introversion or mental illness but not wanting to get involved with people feels natural, a default setting. I am happier with individuals who I identify similarly as 'wounded beasts'. It's probably an intuition or energy thing. To engage with 'the herd' as I perceive them would be an admission of failure. It would admit that they are right, that the way that most people live and work is the correct way. I disapprove of so many things to do with modern living that I have essentially become a hermit in the city. I have chosen not to drink because sitting in pubs listening to drunk people and watching Sky Sports knocks years off your life. Have you seen the cost of going to the Theatre and Cinema recently? Because I perceive that there is a serious lack of interesting worthwhile work about, I choose not to work, because interacting with people is always a risk in case I say something rude or upset them. Being paid to be nice. All this and more on International Happiness Day. Also on a point of principle I don't want to fill out an application form, provide a CV or two relevant references. Reluctant to do what everyone else does or what I perceive other people do. In looking for a suitable image for this post I came across the Blog below . Thank you to Andrew Waugh for purloining his image without permission.

 http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2011/looking-for-happiness-in-too-much-solitude-hermit-by-andrew-waugh/

I think I am writing this and putting it out out there in the ether and blogosphere because it would horrify me if I spent the next twenty years like I have spent the last twenty. Avoiding Life. Wounded animals retreat and hide and observe and re-appear when they perceive it safe to do so or they just go off and die. Watch this Space.